LSS Behavioral Health Services helps manage depression, anxiety during holidays

This paid piece is sponsored by LSS.

The holiday season comes with notions of joy and hope. People encourage one another to be merry, to give gifts and to spend time with loved ones. Despite having good intentions, many South Dakotans find these sentiments out of reach.

“People are stressed over the holidays,” said Rachel Shepherd, director of LSS Behavioral Health Services. “It’s often their saddest time.”

Some feel obligated to buy gifts they can’t afford. Others tiptoe around fractured relationships. And while one person celebrates, another grieves their very first Christmas after losing someone they never imagined celebrating without.

The loss of expectation is the most challenging.

“It’s the ‘I was expecting our family to be together, and now we’re not,’ that people don’t know how to manage,” Shepherd explained.

Loss can come from a death in the family, a separation or divorce, or children moving away and not being around for the holidays. When traditions are at risk of being severed, the pressure to be with family grows as hard choices are made about where to spend the holidays and with whom. Inevitably, someone ends up feeling disappointed or betrayed.

Fortunately, LSS Behavioral Health Services takes the pressure off the individual or family to solve things on their own. Counselors with Behavioral Health Services come alongside individuals and families, offering solutions to seemingly overwhelming situations.

Setting realistic expectations

According to Shepherd and April Bolton, LSS’s associate director of behavioral health in Sioux Falls, one of the most helpful things people can do to manage holiday anxiety is to reframe the holiday season and set realistic expectations.

Instead of making the holiday all about the day — and feeling let down when people don’t show up — plan a time in advance that will allow everyone to be together to celebrate. If some traditions like gift giving become impossible because of the financial burden, work together to come up with new traditions that are just as special. Families communicating openly about what works and what doesn’t can remove stress and fears of unmet expectations.

“Consider what’s realistic for people, what you can accomplish and what’s important,” Bolton said. “Focus on what’s really important in your family traditions or gatherings so that you can feel comfortable and don’t get overwhelmed or burdened.”

For some people, setting realistic expectations means being honest about what they can and cannot handle. Unresolved trauma can make it unbearable to spend time with certain relatives. Difficult conversations can be a cause for anxiety, and the absence of loved ones can be a trigger for grief. To those who feel obligated to gather but don’t have the energy, Bolton offers some simple advice: “You don’t have to go.”

“When I tell a client that it’s OK not to go to a family function if it’s going to cause them distress, they’re like, ‘I don’t have to go?’ ‘No, you don’t have to go,'” Bolton said.

While she rarely tells her clients to avoid certain relatives or gatherings altogether, Bolton does recommend taking things in smaller doses. That might mean showing up for two hours on Christmas instead of eight or leaving early if it becomes too much. Setting boundaries and sticking to them can go a long way, but when the reluctance to be around others during the holiday season persists, it’s important to be aware of other causes such as seasonal depression.

Seasonal depression is triggered by changing weather patterns, which become more drastic in northern climates like South Dakota. Winter days are shorter, darker and colder, which keeps people inside and away from the sun and fresh air. When coupled with the stress of the holidays, winter quickly can become miserable for a number of South Dakotans.

For those with depression, everyday activities like getting out of bed or going to work can become a challenge. Anyone who’s experiencing symptoms or having a difficult time should reach out to nearby support systems. However, if depression starts to disrupt sleep patterns, causes someone to forfeit their routine or elicits thoughts of self-harm, it’s time to seek professional help.

Unique plan for every individual

LSS’s Behavioral Health Services provides a wide range of services, from individual and group therapy to mental health assessments and working directly with doctors to provide the right medications. Counselors with Behavioral Health Services understand that there is no one-size-fits-all treatment plan and walk alongside clients to provide the best path forward.

“We want to get the full picture of what’s going on,” Shepherd said. “We determine how often someone needs to be seen, whether that’s weekly, once a month or three times a week, and we develop a treatment plan with very specific, measurable goals.”

Counselors check in regularly to ensure goals are being met and to work through anything that might need to be changed. Services are available in person, and telehealth is becoming a growing resource for those in rural areas or anyone who’d rather meet with a counselor from the comfort of home. LSS Behavioral Health Services works with people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds, with the goal of helping them be healthy, safe and accepted.

“To share that you’re struggling or in crisis is difficult. I always acknowledge that for clients,” Bolton said. “If someone is open to making changes, we can start to see things from a different perspective and move in a direction that’s really powerful.”

LSS is covered under most insurance plans. We accept South Dakota Medicaid and Medicare. Some insurance requires pre-certification procedures. Our employees can help you navigate this. LSS Behavioral Health offices are conveniently located throughout South Dakota. The main offices are in Aberdeen, Rapid City, Sioux Falls and Watertown. Satellite offices are in Brookings, Milbank and Mitchell.